


Whiskers and Ink

by PilotsRed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Animal Shelter, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Lance (Voltron), but there's lots of dumb pining gays and oblivious idiots so nice, it got WAY out of hand though, this was a prompt request on tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 05:13:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16591484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PilotsRed/pseuds/PilotsRed
Summary: “Hey, Allura, who’s that grumpy guy over there?”“Hmm?” Allura looked up from the adoption paperwork she was looking over.“Who’s grumpy?” She said absentmindedly.Lance blinked at her. “Er. The guy. Over there. With the mullet. Who won’t stop scowling at us?”





	Whiskers and Ink

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oceanflowers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceanflowers/gifts).



“Hey, Allura, who’s that grumpy guy over there?”

  
“Hmm?” Allura looked up from the paperwork she was looking over. Yesterday had been a busy day at the shelter, and the volunteers were stretched thin catching up today. Lance preferred to come over when it was quiet. More cats free for him to play with.

  
“Who’s grumpy?” She said absentmindedly.

  
Lance blinked at her. “Er. The guy. Over there. With the mullet. Who won’t stop scowling at us?”

  
Allura looked up from the stack.

  
“Oh, that’s Keith!” She grinned and waved, and Keith span on his heel and returned to mopping the floor ferociously. “He’s new.” She returned to her paperwork with a small smile on her face.

  
“What?” Lance spluttered. “You got someone new and you didn’t tell me?”

  
“Yes.”

  
“But I’m the backbone of this place!”

  
“Unlike you, Lance, he actually shows up on time. And doesn’t just play with kittens.”

  
“Hey! They love me!” Lance said indignantly. It was loud enough that it caught the attention of the newbie, who turned to glare at Lance.

  
“What?!” Lance mouthed at him accusingly. Keith said nothing, and turned back away, and Lance couldn’t help but feel he’d been silently judged. He scowled and folded his arms, leaning on Allura’s desk. What was it with cool, hot guys thinking they were better than him? He felt his stomach sinking.

  
Allura snorted. “Be nice, Lance.”

  
“I am being nice! He’s the one who won’t stop glaring at me!” Lance hissed into Allura’s ear. “I’m gonna have to watch my back every second I’m with the kittens, he looks like he’s going to stab me. And what will you do without me then, huh?”

  
Allura snorted and burst into laughter. “Probably fine.”

  
“Hey!”

  
“And you know, I think he did mention something about sword fighting. He’s a martial artist.”

  
“What? Allura… you’ve got to stop hiring really cool people to work here.”

  
“Oh, so you think he’s _cool_ , huh?” Allura said with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

  
“No! I think I’m cool. Quit hiring people who can’t live up to my legacy.”

  
Allura laughed. “Whatever you say Lance. Anyway, if you’re here to goof off, you might as well go see the cats. Lena is hiding from all the employees again. Can you coax her out like last time?”

  
“No problem, boss!” Lance called, saluting and walking into the back.

  
Allura called back. “Don’t let Shiro catch you saying that!”

  
He could have sworn he saw Keith do a double take out of the corner of his eye.

  
But when he glanced back, Keith was still studiously mopping.

  
*** * ***

  
“Hey, you were just scared, huh?”

  
Lena purrs, wiggling in his lap. Lance is sitting cross legged, stroking her as he scrolls through his phone, stopping occasionally to murmur to her.

  
“Hey, you know I would take you home if I could, princess.”

  
Footsteps come stomping around the corner, and he looks up in surprise, his phone sliding off his knee with a clatter. Keith is scowling, but his face softens in surprise when he sees Lance and Lena, coming to a halt in the corridor.

  
“Hey, keep it down!” Lance whisper-shouts at him. “I only just got her to come out.”

  
Keith looks at him confusedly. “Where’s Allura?” He whispers, slowly coming closer. He stops a few cautious feet from Lance. “You got Marlene to come out?”

  
Lance raises his eyebrows at him, voice back to normal tone now Lena is purring again. “How would I know where Allura is? I’ve been here for the past half hour.”

  
“Oh.” Keith says. He blinks. “Sorry, I thought I heard you talking to someone. Is she alright?” He dips his head towards Lena carefully.

  
“I was talking to Lena. She’s alright now.” Lance smiles at him. Maybe Keith’s not so bad after all. “You can come closer, you know.”

  
Keith furrows his brow and crouches down slowly, raising a cautious hand out towards Lena. Lena eyes him warily, and he inches closer with a look of great concentration on his face. The cat tilts her head up and eyes him imperiously.

  
Keith looks like a cat approaching another. The thought makes Lance grin into his free hand.

  
After a few more seconds of judgement, Lena dips her head and Keith gently strokes her with his fingers. She leans into it.

  
“Awh, Lena likes you.”

  
“I thought she was called Marlene.” Keith nodded to the sign on Marlene’s cage.

  
“I gave her a nickname. She likes it!”

  
Keith chews his bottom lip. “I thought Allura liked the symbolism of it, seeing as Marlene likes water.”

  
“Yeah, but she answers to Lena. Even Allura calls her Lena now.”

  
“I thought it was more like she answers only to you.”

  
“I suppose.” Lance said, smiling down at the cat in his lap. “We have a special bond.”

  
Keith nods thoughtfully. “Reminds me of Clifford. My cat.”

  
“Clifford? Like the Big Red Dog?”

  
Keith huffs. “Well, yeah, I suppose--”

  
“You named your cat after a dog?” Lance cackles. This guy was too much.

  
“You gave yours an old lady name!” Keith exclaimed.

  
Lance gasped in exaggerated offense. “Don’t listen to him Lena!” He covered the cat’s ears.

  
He realised too late that he was now essentially holding Keith’s hand.

  
He flushed, and looked up at Keith, but he didn’t seem to have noticed, still looking grumpy at Lance’s slight to his own cat.

  
Good.

  
“Why don’t you take Marlene home anyway?” Keith said. “She’s clearly your cat.”

  
Bad.

  
Lance felt his bottom lip stick out. He sighed. “My landlady has a no pets policy. It sucks, dude.”

  
Keith looked taken aback. “Oh. I’m sorry, man.” He said awkwardly.

  
“Yeah, don’t strain yourself.” He took his hands off Keith’s and waved them in air, as if he could push away Keith’s pity. “She’s happy here, usually. She likes Allura a lot actually. It’s the loud noises. It spooks her.”

  
Keith was frowning down at his hand, still petting Lena. “That isn’t fair for you.”

  
Lance scoffed. “Maybe.”

  
An awkward silence filled the corridor. Keith was still staring down at the cat in his lap, and Lance searched his mind desperately for a topic.

  
“I’m going to get a tattoo of her soon.” Lance blurted out.

  
Well, that worked.

  
Keith looked up at him, startled. “Really? Where?”

  
“This place down the road, Black Lion Tattoos. It’s really good! If you’re considering getting a tattoo, you should go there!” Lance smiled and shot Keith a thumbs up. Never let Shiro say he didn’t promote their business.

  
Unexpectedly, Keith smiled. Lance felt an arrow literally pierce his chest. Wow, this guy should smile more often.

  
“I meant, where on _you_ are you getting the tattoo?” He laughed at Lance.

  
Nevermind. This guy was still a jerk. Just because he was a buff martial artist who volunteered at an animal shelter and liked cats and had long hair just slightly too short to pull into a ponytail didn’t mean anything.

  
“My wrist.” Lance said shortly. “Speaking of which, I’d better get going.” He stood up sharply.

  
Lena twitched in his arms and meowed in complaint. He shushed her softly and carried her back to her cage. She climbed out of his arms delicately, headbutting his hand when he reached into give her one final pat.

  
“Where to?” Keith asked, moving with him to the cage.

  
“I got to get back to work.” Lance replied, walking away.

  
He left Keith standing outside Lena’s cage, looking buffuddled. Befuddled.

  
Get it together Lance. Cute guys were a dime a dozen.

  
Keith wasn’t anything intriguing or special.

  
Definitely not.

**Author's Note:**

> Marlene means star of the sea. I thought it was appropriate thinking of the blue lion.
> 
>  
> 
> this was a prompt request for tina!! valued mutual!!! ily
> 
> you can find me over at gothreigen.tumblr.com for more writing, anime posting, n occasional dumb takes xoxo
> 
> thank u so much for reading!!


End file.
